Stallone works to bring ‘Rocky’ musical to Broadway

Sylvester Stallone is working with Tony Award winning songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty and writer Thomas Meehan to bring a musical version of “Rocky” to the stage, the New York Times reported.

Stallone, who holds the rights to the story, met with the writing team in April for a private reading. The Times reported the musical version could debut in Germany in the fall of 2012 and make its way to Broadway in 2012.

According to the Times story, the project was born about about eight years ago when Stallone called Meehan with the idea.

“There was some worry early on — could we really make a musical out of a boxing picture?” Meehan told the Times. “Could you make Rocky sing and dance? But when we did the reading, people were very impressed, and we’re going forward.”

The story won’t be a problem – the original “Rocky” won the Academy Award for best picture in 1977. But what about the music?

“All I can say is that it’s a glorious score, telling an intimate relationship story,” Barbara Darwall, one of the producers, told the Times. “I think people will be really surprised.”

Wait a minute. Didn’t Rocky tell Adrian he wanted to fight because he couldn’t sing and dance?